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Sallie Blair

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Sallie Blair
Birth nameSarah Bolling Mason Hutchins
Also known asSally Blair
Born1934
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1992 (age 57)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
GenresVocal jazz, swing
OccupationVocalist
Labels
Formerly of

Sallie Blair (1934 – February 17, 1992) was an American jazz singer. She began her career performing as a band act with Johnny Otis and Duke Ellington before joining Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Revue. Blair recorded for Bethlehem, MGM, Scepter, and Bell Records, but she was best known for her live performances. Because of her voluptuous figure and blonde hair, Miles Davis called her the "brown Marilyn Monroe."[1]

Life and career

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Blair was born Sarah Bolling Mason Hutchins in Baltimore, Maryland in 1934. She was the daughter of Sarah (Pat) Mason and pro golfer Carlos Hutchins.[2] She attended Douglass High School and began performing at 16 in 1950.[3] Accompanied by her mother, she used the stage name Sally Blair (also spelled Sallie), while performing at local clubs such as Gamby's, the Casino, and Eddie Leonard's Spa. She performed in clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles before replacing an ailing act at New York's Waldorf-Astoria.[3] After graduation, she toured with Duke Ellington and Johnny Otis.[2] In 1953, tired of one-nighters, she left the band business in Los Angeles to pursue a solo career.[4]

In 1956, Blair won the talent competition Chance of a Lifetime on ABC-TV hosted by Dennis James. She sang "Cry Me A River" and "It's Alright With Me," winning the top prize of $1,000 and a one-week engagement at the Versailles nightclub Miami.[5] During her gig, Blair's electrifying performances captivated her audiences especially during her closing number of "That Old Black Magic" when she would kick off her shoes. Celebrities who attended her shows included syndicated columnist Walter Winchell and jazz bandleader Cab Calloway.[2] Calloway hired her to become the featured female vocalist in his Miami Beach Cotton Club Revue. Blair received rave reviews, but despite offers of a raise, she left the revue while they were in Las Vegas because she "found the treatment of colored artists too objectionable to stay."[1]

Blair sang the role of Serena in the jazz version of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess, released by Bethlehem Records in 1956.[6] In October 1956, she headlined at the Boulevard nightclub in Queens, New York before relocating to California.[7] In Hollywood, she made her debut at the Mocambo in November 1956.[8] Blair gained some acclaim, performing in South America, the Middle East, and Europe. She appeared in various publications, including Life magazine, Esquire, Ebony and Jet. She also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and Johnny Carson.[9][2]

Blair released her debut album Squeeze Me on Bethlehem in 1957. In 1958, Blair headlined Donn Arden's production at New York's Latin Quarter.[10] That summer, Ed Sullivan signed her to appear on his variety show televised from the Desert Inn in Las Vegas from Jul 1 to 28.[11] Blair's second album, Hello, Tiger!, arranged and conducted by Neal Hefti, was released on MGM Records later in 1958. The album was chosen as one of Billboard's spotlight winners of the week (November 3, 1958): "A striking cover (featuring the sultry thrush on a tiger-skin rug) gives this package sock display value; while the canary's sexy, intimate vocalizing makes the LP's sure-fire Jockey programming. Gal shines on a group of standards and show tunes, including the infectious 'Daddy,' 'Fever' and 'Witchcraft.'"[12]

Blair didn't achieve success on the charts with her records, but she gained a following for her sensual barefoot performances.[13] While performing at the London Palladium, Blair kicked of her shoes in front of the royal family.[14] She became more known for her voluptuous figure and her sexy stage appearance than her music.[15][4] Her natural hair color was auburn, but she dyed it different colors such as platinum blonde, silver, red, green, black, and white.[16] Early in Blair's career, the press referred to her as the "blonde bombshell," but by 1963, when she appeared at her nightclub gig at New York's Living Room, she was sporting dark brown hair and her stage persona became more sophisticated.[17]

Blair performed with Larry Steele's Smart Affairs[18] of 1960. As her popularity waned, Blair continued to appear on TV Shows throughout the 1960s, including The Danny Kaye Show, Away We Go, and The Rosey Grier Show.[19]

After suffering from an illness and undergoing corrective surgery, Blair returned to Baltimore to be with her mother in 1990. Blair spent three weeks in the intensive care unit shortly before returning to her mother's apartment where she died at the age of 57 on February 17, 1992.[2]

Personal life

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In 1963, Blair married pianist and arranger René DeKnight, widower of Freda DeKnight and formerly of The Delta Rhythm Boys, in Honolulu where DeKnight was heading his own trio.[20][21][2] She was romantically linked to actor Warren Beatty in the late 1970s.[22]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Compilations

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  • 2015: Sallie Blair: Complete Albums And Singles 1957-1962

Album appearances

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  • 1956: George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (Bethlehem Records)
  • 1958: Meet The Girls (AAMCO Records)
  • 1976: Bethlehem's Finest Volume 10 (Bethlehem Records)
  • 2000: Jazz Vocal On Bethlehem (Bethlehem Records)
  • 2013: Love Me Or Leave Me: The Bethlehem Records Story (One Day Music)

Singles

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Cast of The 1957 Cotton Club Revue". The Hi De Ho Blog. June 18, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Sallie Blair dead at 57". The Baltimore Afro-American. February 22, 1992.
  3. ^ a b "Sallie, Season's Hit Singer". LIFE. December 2, 1957. p. 62.
  4. ^ a b "Brown Blondes of Show Business: Sally Blair Is Newest 'Brown Blonde' Rage". Jet: 30–36. July 27, 1953.
  5. ^ "Sallie's So Happy!". Washington Afro-American. January 17, 1956.
  6. ^ Reich, Howard (September 26, 1999). "Various artistsPorgy and Bess (Avenue Jazz/Bethlehem Archives)All..." Chicago Tribune.
  7. ^ "Headliner". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 20, 1956. p. 20.
  8. ^ L.E.R (November 21, 1956). "Sallie Blair Scored Well In Debut at the Mocambo". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. p. 5.
  9. ^ "Sallie Blair Returns To Ed Sullivan Show". Jet: 66. July 10, 1958.
  10. ^ "Night Club: Sally Blair Highly Inflammable" (PDF). Billboard. May 5, 1958. p. 7.
  11. ^ "Sallie Blair Signed For Ed Sullivan Road Show". Jet: 65. May 29, 1958.
  12. ^ "The Billboard's Spotlight Winners of the Week" (PDF). Billboard. November 3, 1958. p. 34.
  13. ^ "Shapely, Sexy and Sensuous,Sallie Blair A Rising Star". Jet: 60–61. September 24, 1959.
  14. ^ "New York Beat". Jet: 64. December 25, 1958.
  15. ^ Blair, Sallie (May 13, 1954). "I Did'n't Want To Sell Sex!". Jet: 2.
  16. ^ Peck, Katherine C. (January 5, 1957). "Green Hair Is Becoming". The Afro-American: 1.
  17. ^ "Singer Steps Out In New Act: 'Bombshell' Flares Into '1,000 Different People'". Jet: 59–61. May 9, 1963.
  18. ^ Hine, Darlene Clark; McCluskey, John (2012). The Black Chicago Renaissance. University of Illinois Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-252-09439-2.
  19. ^ "Sallie Blair Guests On TV's Away We Go". Jet: 66. August 24, 1967.
  20. ^ Sherman, Eddie (December 3, 1963). "Peek-A-Boo". The Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "DeKnight Wedding". Jet: 41. January 2, 1964.
  22. ^ "People Are Talking About..." Jet: 32. October 12, 1978.
  23. ^ "Reviews of New Pop Records" (PDF). Billboard. October 27, 1958. p. 45.
  24. ^ "Reviews and Ratings of New Records" (PDF). Billboard. March 13, 1961. p. 37.
  25. ^ "Reviews of New Singles" (PDF). Billboard. July 28, 1962. p. 37.
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